by WorldTribune Staff, July 19, 2016 The Riyadh government has yet to pay the Saudi bin Laden Group for construction work on the Grand Mosque at Mecca, forcing the construction firm to ask for an extension on a 817 million riyal ($217.8 million) Islamic loan, sources said. The Saudi bin Laden Group had been banned […]
by WorldTribune Staff, May 29, 2016 Amid an ongoing rift with Sunni Saudi Arabia, Shi’ite Iran has decided not to participate in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage. “Due to ongoing sabotage by the Saudi government, it is hereby announced that … Iran’s pilgrims have been denied the privilege to attend the Hajj this year, and responsibility […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Iranian officials accused Saudi Arabia of “sabotage” after talks broke down on a deal that would have enabled Iranians to make the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. “The arrangements have not been put together and it’s now too late,” Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati told the official IRNA news agency on May […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Militants affiliated with Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) killed a Saudi soldier during a gunbattle on May 8 in a mountain village outside of Mecca. Saudi troops also found an explosive vest and bomb-making material after the jihadists retreated from the village of Thaqeef in the western Taif region, state […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The termination of 50,000 workers for the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) sparked a wave of protests that included the torching several buses in Mecca. The job cuts were mostly foreign workers who were given permanent exit visas to leave Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-based newspaper al-Watan reported. SBG, a massive construction company, was […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ABU DHABI — Security forces assigned to protect the Islamic pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia have been bolstered by a huge armored fleet. The Interior Ministry has approved the deployment of more than 3,500 special forces troops to protect the annual Haj in Mecca. Officials said the forces would be bolstered by 450 […]
